Review – The Witcher: Witch’s Lament #3
Review – The Witcher: Witch’s Lament #3
Writer: Bartosz Sztybor
Artist: Vanesa del Rey
Colourist: Jordie Bellaire
Cover Artist: Vanesa del Rey
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adult Fantasy, Video Game
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Available: 28th July 2021
Variant Cover: Stefan Koidl & Anato Finnstark
Synopsis
As Giltine returns home, Geralt observes the bizarre behaviour of each of those involved. Plagued with unanswered questions, he makes a shocking discovery and must come to terms with his role in it.
Writer: Bartosz Sztybor
After two issues of exposition, we get down to the matter at hand and as usual with the Witcher, the humans are almost worse than the monsters he defends them from. Returning from the Lament, last issue, Geralt and Giltine argue about the value of the service of removing emotions and Giltine tries to explain how she has suffered from guilt over the child that Lamia removed.
In the background, we see the horrific image of a fox hunting a hare, after killing the mother the fox finds a group of leverets and thankfully the story moves on just as we see its jaws opening.
Potrim, Giltine’s father, is overjoyed to see his daughter but her mother is distraught and attacks the father almost biting off his nose. Potrim blames the stress of missing her daughter and to celebrate the head to a local bar to celebrate.
At the bar, Geralt presses for more information on the Lamia’s death and is palmed off with the excuse she killed five men. He tells the barkeep to keep Geralt happy with any woman, food or drink he wants as a thankyou gesture but Geralt finally begins to suspect that he’s been taken for a fool.
At night he dreams of women he couldn’t save and finally confronting the barkeep learns the horrible truth, that Potrim was the father of his own daughter’s child. He likes to rape his daughter after a few drinks and Geralt races to confront him.
Sztybor’s writing is nothing short of stunning this issue, with dark, horrific themes taking over and setting up an amazing finale next issue.
Artist/Colourist: Vanesa del Rey and Jordie Bellaire
Del Ray and Bellaire artwork and colouring show the horror of the world in all its forms from the fox scenes in the first three pages (which you can preview at the bottom of this review) to the bawdiness of the bar with buxom wenches. As with the other issues, the muted and dirty colouring adds a feeling of filth and squalor.
Overall Thoughts
These are dark themes dealt with skillfully by the full creative team. The foreshadowing in the first few pages, with the fox, sets most readers stomachs on edge and it just gets more gruesome from there. As with the books and games, men are the real monsters in the Witcher’s world.. but I have a feeling that the Lamia has not finished with the village of Neisse.
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